Women Locked and Down

- By Bharati Chaudhari

The corona virus has terrorized the woríd. Countries big and small are exposed to this invisible invader in equal measure. Nations couídn’t avoid the inevitability of lockdown, crippling the life of people for months on end.

India which fared better in the first phase, is badly affected by the new variant virus in the second phase. Lockdown seems not working, though it has immobilized the masses.

The collateral fallouts of this lockdown, are evident in the socio, economic, cultural and political life of commoner; especially at the domestic front, and women being the principal victim in one strata and gainers in another.

Woríd Health Organization’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that "stay-athome orders and self-quarantine measures which are taken to reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic is likely lead to increase instances of domestic violence".

Recent studies reveal that, there is a sharp increase in the domestic violence cases globally since COVID-19 broke out and the lockdown was clamped. An increase in cases of chiíd abuse, too are report during this period. The potential victims are staying with their likely abusers 24/7 is a plight peculiar to the lockdown situation.

Families at the threshoíd of reform have witnessed, men taking greater interest in domestic work and helping their spouses more than earlier.

‘Domestic’ fallout in India

The National Commission for Women which receives complaints of domestic violence from across the country has recorded more than twofoíd rise in gender-based violence in the lockdown period. The cases are reportedly high in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana & Punjab.

Researches have identified few notable causes for the drastic rise in the graph of domestic violence cases:

1) Families are in anxiety due to imminent material deprivation and possible poverty owing to: a) Global slowdown, massive economic dislocation, closed businesses, have destabilized the domestic economy, b) Fear of losing jobs & uncertain future while salary cuts are already in effect.

2) Prolonged stay at home, of men who stereotypically assume themselves to be the ‘breadwinner’, leaves them in a state of frustration.

3) Since they are locked down at home, they have no other scope but to ventilate their frustration on their immediate dependent. Women conveniently became the first target.

4) The researchers report that, many men stereotypically decline to partake in domestic chores, eventhough they stay idle most of the time. This adds to the frustration of their women counterparts.

In India, we have the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The provisions under the act are still in effect, but the current situation is exceptionally worse and it requires some new strategies to tackle.

Some traditional forms of support are now unavailable to domestic violence victims due to the lockdown. For example:

1) Women are unable to avail their parental solace, as parents on account of the fear of infection, maintain social distancing with everyone including their married daughters.

2) Shelter homes are crowded.

3) The police force is already overburdened.

4) Hospitals are busy doing their duties to handle COVID-19 cases.

Currently, there is no systematic approach to tackle the issue at hand. Some NGOs have come forward & made helpline numbers and email IDs but no firm policies have yet been formulated in this regard.

Some Suggestions

In rural areas, frontline health workers need to be the first point of contact for abused women with the panchayats and women's self-help groups working jointly to provide safety and security to women.

a) Regular visits to slum areas, by the Protection Officers;

b) Launching a mobile application for women to get easy access to nearby protection officers.

c) Setting up area-wise hotline numbers, to be made functional 24/7.

d) Circulating the numbers of Protection Officers, as per their area of jurisdiction, through social media, Television broadcast, News Paper, etc.

e) Free online or tele-counseling facilities, etc.

f) To treat domestic violence cases as 'urgent cases'.

A ray of hope

Adopting to the new situation, business houses around the woríd, get into a culture of work-from-home. It allows women to balance home and work. If they couíd work from, they wouídn't have to sacrifice their careers.

Another important development this lockdown has brought, is the positive change of attitude of some men towards their domestic responsibility. Tertilt's study found that 8 to 10 percent of heterosexual couples have switched their domestic roles.

To illustrate this point, cases are reported in which, “if the wife works in the health sector, and the husband in IT sector; husband opts for work-athome provision, so that he can take care of the family while his wife can make best use of her job outside in the opportune health industry.” Men who are constantly at home in lockdown also get to understand the tedium of domestic work and the necessity for partaking in it. This is an important step towards equality.

India has a wide gap of gender inequality. The male-dominated mentality seems to be on the rise. Housework is one of them. Men who do not have a stick in the house have started helping in the housework in the lockdown caused by the corona crisis.

This information has been collected by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

According to their findings, both Indian men and women spent more time on housework during the lockdown. Of course, women worked harder than men. However, men spent more time on housework than before. "This means that the gender gap between the average times spent on househoíd chores was significantly reduced.”

According to a 2018 report by the International Labor Organization, women in urban India spend 312 minutes a day doing housework. Men spend only 29 minutes a day on these tasks. In rural areas, the rate is 291 minutes for women and 32 minutes for men.

In India, homes usually do not have a dishwasher or vacuum cleaner. Washing machines are also in fewer homes. Most of the work has to be done by hand.

Therefore, in Indian homes, helpers are usually sought for this work. However, in the lockdown, these helpers also had to stay at home. This one area opened up scope for men to render a helping hand to their spouses, and also a small saving during the pressing time.

References:

1. कोरोना व्हायरस : कोव्हिड -19 चा परिणाम महिला आणि पुरुषांवर वेगवेगळा का होतो?
2. कोरोना व्हायरस : लॉकडाऊनमध्ये पुरूष महिलांना घरकामात अधिक मदत करत आहेत का?
3. स्त्रियांवरील दुष्परिणामांचा हा अँगल कोणी विचारात घेईल का?
4. The shadow Pandemic: Lockdown and domestic violence

Courtesy: Khoj Gandhiji Ki, June 2021.

* Bharati Chaudhari is a student, Post Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Rural Reconstruction 20-21, Gandhi Research Foundation.